About the conference Fragile Lives 2025 is the second edition of an annual international expert conference focused on using rigorous, scientific evidence to inform policy interventions in fragile, conflict-affected, and underdeveloped settings. It will take place on 30 September and 1 October 2025 at Humboldt University in Berlin. This year’s central theme is: Gender, Institutions, […]
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ISDC’s Peacebuilding Research Program tackles real world questions on how to build peace, mitigate violence and avoid violent forms of conflict resolution. Our work considers all stages of the conflict cycle, focusing on what can be done to prevent war from breaking out, ensure violence is reduced during active conflicts while promoting peaceful resolutions, and […]
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Luke Hosford is a Junior Researcher in the Peacebuilding Research Program at ISDC. He recently completed his dual Master’s degree in International Politics from the University of Konstanz, Germany, and Rutgers University, New Jersey, specialising in Conflict and Security Studies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Trinity College, Dublin. His […]
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Fragile Lives 2024 was the first edition of a new annual expert conference aimed at discussing the role of scientific evidence in shaping policies for fragile and conflict-affected areas. Throughout the event, held on 1 and 2 October 2024 at Humboldt University of Berlin, representatives from academia, policy, and practice explored how poly-crises, where violent […]
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Gemeinsam mit den renommierten Institutionen ISDC, UN Peacebuilding Fund und 3ie bietet Kooperation Global der Entwicklungsgemeinschaft die Möglichkeit, wertvolle Einblicke und Lehren aus der Initiative PeaceFIELD zu gewinnen. Die Veranstaltung fokussiert sich auf die Frage: „Was wirkt in der Friedensförderung?“ und welche Schlüsse können für eine effektive und evidenzbasierte Politikgestaltung gezogen werden?
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Registration is now open for the international expert conference ‘Fragile Lives 2024‘! The conference, which will take place on 1-2 October 2024, will host a unique mix of experts from academia, policy, and practice speaking on the cutting edge of research and programming on three themes: Key speakers include: Beyond that, the conference will include […]
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ISDC is studying activities related to bringing victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence rapid and flexible assistance to cover their essential needs and unavoidable expenditures in sustainable ways that respect their dignity.
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On the 17th and 18th of April, the world of peacemaking descended upon Berlin to attend the Berghof Foundation’s new conference: The Berlin Moot. Under the theme of ‘Reshaping Peace’, more than 300 experts from around the world came together to take stock on the current state of peacemaking and discuss concrete suggestions for the […]
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We study how the stringency of policy measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic affects individuals’ trust in formal institutions. Drawing on micro-level panel data from Germany spanning an 18-month period from the onset of the pandemic, we show that, on average, there is a pronounced negative relationship between the stringency level of COVID-19 countermeasures and […]
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This brief is a policy-focused summary of our research on the complexities of financing peace agreements.
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Our research on the complexities of financing peace agreements delves into the understudied intersection of funding and peacebuilding processes.
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This report contains findings from an impact assessment of SPARK’s programme LEAD 2, focussing on its success in supporting new entrepreneurs.
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This report presents our findings on LEAD 2’s effects on new start-ups and existing SMEs, thereby assessing the efficacy of jobs-based programming in promoting stability and economic development in the region.
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ISDC is looking for qualified bidders for data collection in Sierra Leone and Guinea.
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The integration of refugees into host countries’ formal labor markets is increasingly recommended as a durable solution to forced migration. Yet, this policy response is a contentious political topic with little empirical evidence, especially in low- and middle-income host countries available to support policy. This article examines the impacts of integrating Syrian refugees into Jordan’s […]
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There is growing evidence that ethnic divisions and conflict experiences affect social capital and economic interactions in both positive and negative ways. We conduct a set of experiments measuring social capital in Kenya between the two largest ethnic groups, the Luo and Kikuyu, who experienced violence in the 2007 and 2008 post-electoral riots. Our findings […]
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PeaceFIELD2 aims to – through a series of impact evaluations in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa – close a knowledge gap on what type of peacebuilding interventions work where.
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Political violence is a major impediment to economic development, damaging social, physical and human capital. By contrast, the manner in which violence influences prosocial behaviors is less clear cut, even though these behaviors likely contribute to post-conflict outcomes at individual and aggregate levels. We propose that the standard routes through which the experience of violence […]
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Project background Youth unemployment is a key development and social challenge in fragile places. Not only does fragility harm opportunities within, but high numbers of idle young people can contribute to fragility. To overcome this concern, SPARK has implemented the LEAD 2 program in Somalia and Tunisia – a program designed to help young entrepreneurs […]
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Dr. Tatiana Orozco Garcia is a post-doctoral Researcher at ISDC. She obtained her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Göttingen in October 2023 on the intersection of development and behavioral economics. In particular, her doctoral thesis focuses on peacebuilding and intra-household decision-making. Tatiana’s current work at ISDC entails designing impact evaluations and experimental studies […]
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Paulina Rebolledo is a Researcher at ISDC. Her research interests include development and cultural economics, mainly the design and analysis of policies that promote inclusive growth in developing economies. At ISDC, Paulina is currently working on the evaluation of programs by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), located in Mali, Sudan, and Guatemala. Paulina has previously […]
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